Crest of a Low-Budget Movie : Amateurish ‘San Clemente Locals’ Making a Splash in Surfing Circles

The poster for Jeff Neu’s new surf movie, “San Clemente Locals,” features caricatures of more than two dozen scruffy faces and a well-scrubbed one not seen recently around the beach town: Richard M. Nixon, tucked into the back row, says in a bubble above his head that the nonfiction action film has an “awesome sound track.”

“San Clemente Locals,” now playing a limited run at the city’s 50-year-old Miramar Theatre, has no words and--with the exception of a two-minute segment involving skimpy swimsuits--no women. The ultra-low-budget, 80-minute film consists mostly of segments of local surfing greats riding waves in San Clemente and around the world, connected by handwritten titles and backed by driving surf music.

Nixon is present among the surfing greats in the poster because his stay at the beachfront spread known as the Western White House had an impact on the surfing scene. During his tenure, when security around Casa Pacifica was tight, “it was kind of a challenge to surf that spot because it wasn’t so accessible,” said Neu, 31, in an interview this week.

“It’s kind of a young people’s movie,” said Neu, who produced, directed, edited, financed and promoted the film. At the Miramar, which has been closed for some time, Neu also runs the projector, gives away door prizes donated by companies that produce surfing merchandise, sellsT-shirts and resells take-out pizza by the slice at the refreshment counter.

“I’ve evolved as a promoter,” he explained by way of understatement.

As a 14-year-old high school student in Bell, Neu was so sure he would be a surfer that he bought a used board even before he tried the sport.

The Canadian immigrant was right, and before long he was making the 25-mile bicycle ride to Seal Beach, his board in tow on a makeshift cart that used wheels from an old skateboard. After graduation, Neu took a job working nights at a Mission Viejo Safeway so he could spend his days catching waves in San Clemente. Vacations meant flying to surfing meccas around the Pacific, thanks to a sister who worked for Pan Am.

Despite this dedication, Neu soon realized that he would never be good enough to be a pro.

“There are lots of good surfers,” he said, “but only a handful of great surfers. . . . I knew I would never be that good.”

Because such a disproportionate number of these great surfers--Matt Archbold, Jim Hogan, Dino Andino the McNulty brothers--seemed to come from San Clemente, Neu decided to make movies about the sport, applying the same single-minded dedication to his new goal. He saved his money and took filmmaking courses at Saddleback College, acknowledging that he was “completely naive” about how difficult it was to break into the movie industry.

All he was sure of, he said, was that “I didn’t want to work for Safeway for the rest of my life.”

With the $55,000 he had saved, he made “Journey to the Impact Zone,” consisting mostly of surfing segments and surf music, finally quitting the supermarket after 13 years to complete work on the project.

After premiering the movie at the Miramar in August, 1988, and brief runs at Edwards theaters in Huntington Beach and Costa Mesa, Neu took his one-man show on the road with his 1971 VW bus, showing it on college campuses and in bars, auditoriums and Knights of Columbus halls on the East, West and Gulf Coasts. Despite the genre’s “limited audience,” after more than a year and $15,000 more in promotion costs the film was in the black. It recently became available in video. Ben Marcus, associate editor of San Juan Capistrano-based Surfer magazine, said “Impact Zone” contained “the best California footage I’ve seen in years.”

Neu spent the last four months shooting “San Clemente Locals,” thanks to what was an excellent summer for surf. In addition to the San Clemente footage, Neu traveled to Hawaii and an island off Baja to collect footage. There are also segments of local skateboarders and body surfing at “the Wedge” in Newport Beach.

By trading off promotional considerations with various surf merchandisers and working out of his home, Neu said he was able to complete “San Clemente Locals” for about $20,000. Local and up-and-coming groups, for example, allowed their music to be used in the sound track without charge. Neu said that his new movie will also be available in video in December.

The quality of “San Clemente Locals” ranges from handmade to homemade. From time to time at the recent screening the film slipped in and out of focus and some of the editing--which is still not complete--was choppy.

Neu has been branching out lately into selling a variety of beach footage to “stock houses” which in turn sell the film to advertising agencies. Time-lapse shots of sunsets are some of his best sellers.

“It’s got to the point that I can look at the sky and the sun and know if it’s going to be worth shooting,” Neu said, noting that he probably will not stray too far from surfing. “I like shooting action films--capturing a moment.”

“San Clemente Locals” at Miramar Theatre, Coast Highway and Avenida Pico, San Clemente. $6. Show at 9 p.m. Through Sunday. Information: (714) 493-6087.